One-Third of Gen Z Youth Identify as Not Exclusively Heterosexual

Hundreds of young people raise their voices about the future of their world at the #YouthSummit in London on September 12, 2015 . | (Photo: Creative Commons)

A new study has found that one-third of Generation Z, specifically those between the ages of 16 and 22, in Britain don't identify as solely heterosexual.

Only 66 percent of those belonging to Generation Z say they are "exclusively heterosexual," and that's the lowest figure of any generation, according to the research by Ipsos Mori, as reported by The Telegraph.

The percentage of those identifying as solely heterosexual increases to 71 percent among millennials, 85 percent among those in Generation X, and 88 percent among baby boomers.

The study also shows that nearly 10 percent of Generation Z identify as bisexual, compared to about 1 percent among baby boomers, according to the Daily Mail.

Women in general are more likely than men to identify as bisexual, and men are more likely to identify as homosexual, the study adds.

Hannah Shrimpton, one of the authors of the report, tells the Telegraph that there is now a "hugely greater exposure to communications on the variety of lifestyles available to young people today through social technology."

She adds, "In particular, this generation of young has grown up at a time when gender as a simple binary and fixed identity has been questioned much more widely — this is new, and will affect wider views of gender, sexuality and much broader aspects of identity."

At least 150 schools in Britain have "gender neutral uniforms," meaning students can decide if they want to wear skirts or trousers, irrespective of their biological sex, reports revealed last year.

It is perhaps due to such exposure that churches and parents in the United States have also been urged to minister to Generation Z.

In February, Jonathan Morrow of the Georgia-based Impact 360 Institute apologetics ministry detailed in an interview with The Christian Post how parents and churches must respond to the needs of Generation Z, which data indicates is the most non-Christian generation in modern U.S. history.

A Barna Group research sponsored by the Impact 360 Institute found earlier this year that just 4 percent of Generation Z holds an authentic Christian worldview, even though 59 percent of Generation Z identifies as Christian or Catholic.

"We have been entertaining them but we haven't been training them," Morrow told CP. "A lot of churches are well-meaning and they want kids to have a good time. I am all for that but just entertaining them isn't going to produce a lifelong disciple of Jesus and training takes time and intentionality and it is more of a personalized approach."

Morrow also addressed the trend of "anti-intellectualism" within the church that he said had existed for about 100 years.

A report last year revealed that at least 150 schools in Britain have "gender neutral uniforms," meaning students can decide if they want to wear skirts or trousers, irrespective of their biological sex.